Car-coupling device.



J. W. & w. w. HOWARD.

GAR COUPLING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED 001. 2, 1907.

93 1 ,927. Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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. CAB. COUPLING DEVICE.

.- APPLICATION FILED OUT. 2, 1907.

931 ,927 Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

(fa/Q22 Wffwmrw UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

JOHN W. HOWARD AND WILLIAM W. HOWARD, OF WESTERNPORT, MARYLAND.

GAR-COUPLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11 24., 1909.

' Application filed October 2, 1907. Serial No. 395,620.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN W. HOWARD and WVILLIAM W. HOWARD, citizens of the United. States, residing at WVesternport, in the county of Allegany and State of Maryland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Coupling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway appliances, and more particularly to automatic car coupling devices.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide means whereby a brakeman can, from one side of a car, throw the knuckle of the coupler outwardly to coupling position so that the coupler of an approaching car can be coupled.

A further object of the invention is to improve and simplify the construction of devices of this character so as to be comparatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture and install, and thoroughly reliable and effective in use.

\Vith these objects in view and others, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one of the embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the end portion of the car showing the improved coupling applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view drawn on an enlarged scale of the coupling showing the knuckle by full lines in coupling position and by dotted lines in uncoupling position. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the coupler. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4t, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a coupling pin. 6 is a similar view of the knuckle.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the body of a car on which is suitably mounted-a coupler B that is provided with a coupling pin C which israised and lowered by a rock shaft 1 mounted in bearings 2 on the end'beam 3 of the car, the rock shaft having handles 4 disposed at the sides of the car and also having a central arm 5 which is flexibly connected by a chain 6 with the coupling pin C.

The coupler B comprises a draw bar or shank? and a head 8 of any approved construction and on which is hinged, by a pin 9, the knuckle 10. The tail 11 has its extremity cut away to form a curved surface or cam 12 as shown in Fig. 6, and projecting laterally from the tail is a projection or extension 13 which is accommodated in an opening 14L in the wall of the head 8 when the knuckle is in coupling position, as shown in Fig. 3. The top and bottom walls of the head 8 are provided with registering openings 15 and 16, Fig. 4, for the reception of the coupling pin C, the pin being provided with a depending web or tongue 17 which prevents the lower end of the pin from working laterally when the pin is raised to releasing position. When the pin is fully in serted, the lower end projects into the bottom opening 16 and the bottom surface or shoulder 18 is adapted to ride on the cam portion 12 as the tail of the knuckle swings back and forth during the coupling and uncoupling operations. The lateral extension 13 moves under the lower end of the coupling pin when the knuckle swings to open position and the coupling pin is held in raised position by resting on the said extension.

The device, designated generally by E, whereby the knuckle can be thrown to full open position by the brakenian standing at one side of the car, depends upon the upward movement of the coupling pin, so that merely operating either one of the handles i, the device will throw the knuckle to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, where the coupling pin will rest on the extension 13 of the tail of the knuckle and thus, by the weight of the coupling pin, hold the knuckle in position for permitting the coupling to receive the knuckle of a coupler on an approaching car. The device E comprises a depending lever 19 arranged within the head 8 of the coupler with its upper end projecting through a slot 20 and mounted on a pivot 21 held in bearings 22 on the head 8. The lever extends behind the tail of the coupler as clearly shown in Fig. 4, so as to swing the latter outwardly, and on the lever is an arm 23 that is connected with the coupling pin C by a link 2 1 so that the upward movement of the link will throw the lever to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4, and move the knuckle with it. It is necessary to provide a lost motion connection between the link 24 and coupling pin, so that the latter can have an independent initial movement suflicient to lift it out of the bottom opening 16 of the coupler head and be placed in operative relation with the cam 12 to permit the latter to ride under the bottom end of the coupling pin. For this purpose, the side of the coupling pin presented to the knuckle-throwing device has a vertical slot 25 that has two opposite walls recessed as at 26, Figs. 3, 41- and 5, so as to receive oppositely extending lugs 27 on the upper extremity of the link 24. The bottom walls 28 of the recesses 26 serve as stops whereby the lugs are engaged when the coupling pin has finished the initial part of its movement and thereby move the link upwardly and cause the lever 19 to swing to the right on its pivot for throwing the knuckle to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2. The slot 25 continues the same distance lower than the recesses so as to accommodate the extremity of the arm 23 when the lever swings toward the coupling pm.

'In practice, when it is desired to couple two cars together and assuming that the knuckle is in closed position, the brakeman turns either one of the handles 4 of the rock shaft 1 upwardly so as to withdraw the coupling pin and permit the tail of the knuckle to swing under the bottom end of the pin. By the time the pin has moved a sufficient distance to permit the cam 12 to move under the bottom end of the pin, the knucklethrowing device E will be brought into operation and thus throw the knuckle out- Wardly to a position in which it will receive the knuckle of the coupler of an approaching car, and when in its extreme opposite position, the coupling pin will be supported on the lateral extension 13 of the tail 11, so that the brakeman will not be required to hold the coupling pin raised.

lVhen the coupler of an approaching car strikes the set knuckle, the latter will be thrown to coupling position and the tail will move from under the coupling pin and thus permit the latter to drop to locking position. The lever 19 of the knuckle-throwing device E will return to its normal position by gravity. From this, it will be seen that the knuckle can be shifted to position for permitting automatic coupling without the necessity of the brakeman taking the knuckle by hand and setting it with the accompanying danger to life or limb. In uncouplin the coupling pin is withdrawn to a point where the shoulder 18 of the pin is raised above the tail of the knuckle to thereby permit the coupler to swing open for the separation of the cars. p 7

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while we have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is 1. In a car coupler, the combination of a chambered head provided with a coupling pin receiving openings at the top and bottom thereof, a knuckle pivoted in the head and provided with a tail, a lateral extension on the tail, a coupling pin mounted for vertical movement in the openings and provided with a vertically-extending tongue at its lower end disposed beyond the path of the rear end of the tail and extension, said tongue being of sufficient length as to remain in the bot tom opening of the head when the pin is withdrawn to its full extent and the bottom of the pin forwardly of the tongue being arranged to rest on the lateral extension of the tail when the knuckle is open, a knucklethrowing element mounted in the head and provided with a member extending toward the pin, a link pivotally connected at its lower end with the member, a lost-motion connection bet-ween the upper end of the link and coupling pin for permitting the latter to move independently during the first part of its movement and with the knucklethrowing clement during the latter part of its movement, the said element and connections between the same and pin preventing the latter from being pulled out of the head during the withdrawing of the pin, said lost motion connection consisting of lugs on the upper end of the link slidably engaged in op ositely-disposed recesses in the coupling pin, the lower walls of the recesses forming shoulders for engaging the lugs to actuate the knuckle-throwing element by the upward movement of the coupling pin.

2. In a car coupler, the combination of a head, a knuckle mounted thereon, a coupling pin mounted in the head for locking the knuckle and provided with a Vertical slot in one side havlng recesses m opposed walls, a knuckle-throwing element disposed alongside and spaced from the coupling pin, means for pivotally attaching the upper end of the element with the head, and a link having its lower end'conneeted with the element and its upper end formed into oppositely-extending lugs slidably engaged in the recesses of the slot in the coupling pin.

In testimony whereof, We aflix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN W. HOYVARD. XVILLIAM XV. HOWVARD. Witnesses:

HARRY W. SEABER, ISAAC F. ADAMS. 

